Circle Built Its Own Blockchain: What Is Arc and Why It Matters for USDC

Circle has spent years enabling USDC on other blockchains. Now it is building its own infrastructure. Arc, the Circle blockchain, is a settlement network for institutional finance. Arc is already live as a public testnet, though not yet on mainnet as of August 2026.

Circle wants it to be the settlement layer where businesses can move USDC and other assets with predictable fees, fast finality, and direct access to Circle’s financial infrastructure.

That would give USDC a much-needed blockchain built around the stablecoin’s unique financial infrastructure. Read more: The New Crypto Banking Era: How Stablecoins Are Becoming the Backbone of Global Payments What Is the Circle Blockchain Arc?

Arc is an EVM-compatible layer 1 blockchain built by Circle, the company behind the USDC and EURC stablecoins. Circle launched the public testnet on October 28, 2025, with over 100 launch partners and design partners.